Masks for Pretending
by Naomi334
Summary: Yuto Akame met an...interesting person in the forest of his school. Since he's there for the day, Kano Shuuya gave him one of his own masks to borrow, but the mask isn't all that it seems - it's a mask for perfect façade, just what Yuto'd wanted...


Heyup, it's me. Haven't been here for a while, but I wrote this one shot, hope you like it. :)

I was kinda inspired to write this ever since I listened to a Lethargic Coup d'Était, Yuto's song. Compared to Kano's song, (Yobanashi Deceive,) I just thought that Yuto seemed a lot more open than Kano, and I later confirmed this in the anime. They did (or tried to do, in Yuto's case) the same thing (hide their feelings from others), but Yuto a) didn't have as bad a thing to cover up and b) was much worse at it. Even though he says in his song that he wants to deceive himself, he actually wasn't, whereas Kano never bluntly announces this, but does it anyway. I dunno, I've thought about this a lot, okay? I dunno how exactly to write it down XD. I hope you get what I mean.

Kano's ability is changed slightly. I made it so that as long as the other person knows how they look and speak like he can change his perspective for them. He can also _sort of_ pass on his ability, but I hope it adds to the story. He's still the same guy. XD

And so, onto the story:

* * *

"Who're you?"

The blonde gave him a wide and devilish grin, "Who am I? Well, that's an interesting question isn't it~?" He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets, "My name's Kano Shuuya. And who might you be, mister panther ears?"

Yuto frowned at the comment, "I'm Yuto Akama. Why're you here?"

"Nice to meet you Yuto-chan~! And I guess it was just fate, if you believe in that of course." He spread his arms wide in question, though he hadn't actually asked one.

"You didn't really answer my question...and drop the 'chan'." Yuto was becoming increasingly annoyed at this newcomer, and he'd only been talking to him for a few seconds! He'd literally been taking a walk—a walk! He was busy contemplating his on problems right now, he didn't need another. "If you could just leave that'd be great. I'm pretty sure you're not a student here so..."

"This is a school?" The blonde raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't really give the vibe of one. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a place for fighting, not learning~."

Yuta scowled. It was as if this "Kano" knew exactly what this school was just from being within the premises. He found that unsettling. He summoned his scythe, "What're you doing here? If you have a legitimate reason I'll let you go."

"You won't be getting rid of me anytime soon, Yuto-chan~!"

"I told you to drop the 'chan'!" Yuto said angrily. He sighed, "Look, if you don't leave I'll probably have to force-"

"Not so good at the acting part, huh?"

Yuto stopped abruptly.

 _What?_

"You...you-"

"You've gotta be better than that if you want to deceive others~!" Kano's hands were back in his pockets, "You're an amateur: too honest with yourself. You tell yourself you're suffering, but it's like you _want_ people to notice. Isn't that so~?"

"I..." He didn't really know what to say. He glowered at the other teen, his face growing colder, "You'd never understand."

"Oh really~?" He could've sworn that Kano's eyes had flickered to red for less than a second. "Then would you like me to tell you a story?"

"I don't have time for your stories, sorry." Yuto breathed, swinging his scythe towards the intruder.

Then he stopped.

No.

No, wait.

That wasn't possible...

The intruder's place was now occupied by a much more familiar one. Those eyes...he remembered those eyes.

"Brother...?" Yuto's eyes were wide, his scythe forgotten at his side.

His brother laughed sweetly, "So that's it, huh? Your brother." The child's smile turned into a mocking grin, "What happened, Yuto-chan~? What happened to your brother?"

The voice was twisted. It wasn't being used in the way it was meant to. The voice of his brother had been corrupted.

With another blink, Kano appeared once more, "Yu-to-chan~?" He repeated the name, highlighting each individual syllable. This was torture. This was worse than torture. _He can't just do that: show my brother then mock it!_

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly. He hoped with all his might that this was just a dream. He hated dreams.

 _This will never be a dream._

"No hiding, Yuto~!" Kano's voice stayed cheerful, "What happened? If I can't tell a story, someone has to, right~? So tell me, Yuto-chan! What happened to your brother?"

"As if I would tell _you_! You're probably a psychopath you-"

"I'm no psychopath. I've just perfected what you couldn't." Kano stopped grinning for a second, his eyes once again becoming a light crimson. His face now occupied a slight frown. It was a look of pity, but also a look of understanding, recognition and regret. However, just as before, the look quickly switched back to a smile and a laugh, "I know how you think, Yuto-chan~!"

"You...you've..." A moment of realisation hit Yuto. He was the same, almost exactly the same as him-he was just better at the acting part.

"Kano? Kano! Where are you? The _idiot_." A low female voice broke the tension suddenly.

Yuto blinked.

"I'm sure he'll be around here _somewhere_ Danchou! We've just gotta keep on looking."

"Ahh~ if it isn't Kido and Momo coming to get me." Kano grinned, his eyes flashing red. He reached out his hand and pulled something out of the air. He tossed the thing towards Yuta before turning on his heel.

"What's that?" Yuto caught it. It seemed to be a white and black mask. Each side was vaguely patterned, but it didn't seem to represent anything.

"I think I'll let you borrow that for a bit. It's one of my spares. I have plenty, of course." Kano's eyes darkened for a second, "You should find out whether you really want to lie to yourself, or if you're just pretending."

"Wh-"

Kano smirked, "Well, I'll be off then, Yuto-chan~!" He turned just as a green-haired girl kicked him in the stomach. Yuto frowned, had she been there before?

"Hello, Kano..." Momo trailed off slightly as she saw his pain. He still wore a wide smirk though as he doubled over.

"You've kicked me harder, Kido-chan~!"

That earned him another kick.

Half unconscious, the one called Kido dragged Kano away, him chuckling softly, while Momo smiled apologetically at the wide-eyed Yuto, "I'm really sorry. I hope Kano wasn't too much of a bother." Then she came closer and put a hand by her mouth, "Don't worry about him. They're siblings, so she won't take it too far." She took the hand away, "I hope... Danchou! Don't hurt him too much!" She ran off after them.

Yuto nodded slowly, even though there was no one around to really see it. He still clutched the strange mask in his hand.

It dawned on him that he never _had_ found out what they were doing here.

-xxx-

Upon closer inspection, the mask seemed fairly ordinary. It was just a mask. He wasn't sure what material it was made of, but it could hold its shape, felt fairly light, and wasn't rough to touch.

"Hey, Nyamirin...come look at this."

Nyamirin stepped up behind where he was sitting, "What is it, Yuto? Hurt your hands?" She laughed.

"Ha ha...it's about this mask." He turned it over in his hands.

"Hmm...and what is this mask then?"

Yuto sighed, "You can see it right here. I'm not sure exactly..." He turned to look at his frowning friend, "Nyamirin?"

"I can't see anything. Is it supposed to be invisible?" She looked puzzled.

"You can't?" Yuto sighed. Trust the situation to be even harder.

"Not a thing. Where'd you get it from?"

Although he could tell Nyamirin was trying hard to trust him, he could tell she was finding it hard to believe he had an invisible mask. Quite rightly too...

"Some guy on school grounds. He was pretty creepy."

"Throw it away then. We don't need the head of the Drama Club going mental."

Yuto nodded. Maybe he was going mental.

 _("You should find out whether you really want to lie to yourself, or if you're just pretending.")_

What had Kano meant? I mean, it was true that he tried to lie to himself into thinking he was alright, but that was the only way he'd _be_ alright, wasn't it?

He turned over the mask again in his hands.

"I think I'll keep it, actually." Yuto said to Nyamirin. He wondered what it was for. Kano seemed to find it useful...

 _("I'll let you borrow that for a bit...I have plenty, of course.")_

He sighed. Nothing made any sense. Who were those people, anyway? Yuto ran his fingers across the grooves of the mask one last time before deciding to slide it onto his face. The mask melted on like a second skin.

He couldn't take it off.

-xxxx-

"Who're they?"

"They've come to find people with specific abilities, it seems, Eruna. They'll leave by the end of the day if they don't find anything."

"Hmm..." Eruna put a hand on her chin, "I dunno Bimii...they seem strange." She raised her finger into the air, "Let's go follow them!"

Several teenagers were standing in the centre of the school yard. They all seemed a bit funny. There was one with blonde hair, one with orange-ish hair, one with brown hair (who didn't really seem comfortable), one with black hair clutching a phone with headphones in, two with white hair and a frog.

"Ahh! Frog-san!" Eruna declared delightedly.

"Eruna! Not so loud..." Bimii sighed. "Just because he's wearing green doesn't make him a frog..."

"Oh! Akama-kun!" Eruna had been completely distracted from what she was doing as she yelled to Yuto passing by.

Bimii tried to face palm as a cat. It didn't work very well.

"Ichinomiya-chan! Hey." He smiled.

"You seem happy today, Akama-kun. Did something happen?"

"I do?" He said cheerfully, "Ha, that's funny. No, nothing really happened. What're you doing?"

"Watching these guys!" Eruna's attention immediately switched back to the group of teens.

"Hmm...I saw one of them earlier, actually. The blonde one. He's called Kano, I think." He looked at Bimii, "Sensei, why're they here?"

"Looking for people with certain abilities apparently. They call themselves the 'Mekakushi Dan', and that one," he gestured to the one with green hair, "is the Danchou."

"Are you sure we should've let them into the school, Sensei? They seem a bit fishy."

"Actually, they've explained themselves and it seems as though they're telling the truth. It's classified information, though."

"I see..."

"Hello."

"Arghf!" Eruna jumped and landed flat on her back. She got up quickly into a sitting position.

"Ahh~ don't mind Kido! She's just a bit surprising, that's all." The one Yuto'd identified as Kano grinned, "She's a bit...ghostly."

He got punched in the face.

"Ow! Kido!" He whined.

"I'm sorry, are you alright." Kido ignored the pain of the one behind her and held out a hand for Eruna to get up.

"Yup! I'm good!" Eruna saluted with her tongue sticking out.

Kido nodded, "I wonder if I could see your eyes for a second?"

Eruna blinked at her.

"I see. False alarm." Kido sighed, "They're more orangeish pink..."

Frog-san nodded, "Yeah, let's move on."

"Alright, see you later, Frog-san!" Eruna saluted again.

Frog-san frowned at her for a second, then laughed, "I've been called that before. I'm Seto. Pleased to meet you."

Kano chuckled, "I like her." He looked at Yuto, "You figured out yet?" For some reason his smirk seemed slightly sinister.

Yuto shook his head, opening his mouth to speak.

"Well, I'll be here all day. Come find me when you have~!" Kano cut him off, waving his hand to dismiss the conversation, his playful tone back.

The groups peeled away from each other. Eruna saw Kido speaking to Yuto quickly before she left to follow her Mekakushi Dan. Eruna raised an eyebrow at Yuto.

"What was that about?"

-xxx-

"It wasn't anything." Yuto dismissed Eruna's comment. As soon as she'd walked over to him, he could tell that Kido had experience with these masks. She'd been slightly uneasy...

 _"I'm sorry on behalf of Kano this morning. I hope he didn't do anything." Kido said as her group slowly left._

 _"Nah, he was good." Yuto replied. The mask made his act much more convincing. It actually seemed like he was happy with himself._

 _Kido nodded slowly, before taking a deep breath, "Kano has the power of perfect deception. It doesn't span a very wide range, so he can only change the perspective of himself to other people." She sighed, "Though, sometimes he changes into things that might be quite traumatising for the perceiver. He didn't do that, did he?"_

 _"No. We just had a short conversation when you arrived, nothing happened."_

 _Kido raised an eyebrow, disbelieving, "If you're sure..."_

She could see through it. She probably had years of experience in getting to know when Kano was using his power, and probably knew Kano well enough to guess what he'd probably said and done.

He had a day to figure this out.

-xxx-

The mask worked. That was at least one thing he'd concluded.

Everyone seemed to think he was happier, and in a genuine way. The mask tweaked his reactions into the perfect false appearance. He still felt his emotions, but no one could see it in an outer appearance. Even Eruna and Nyamirin were convinced, and they seemed the most able to see past a disguise.

Yuto had finally begun to convince himself.

 _「_ _It felt horrible. 」_

With the mask came a new layer of guilt. He was deceiving everyone around him. These were people who'd come to accept the way he was. They were his _friends_.

Is this what Kano felt every day? Yuto wondered how he dealt with it. Instead of helping, the power made things worse. If this continued, he was sure something would break. He would become more broken than he already felt.

 _「_ _What would be worth this? 」_

Surely there must be a reason Kano did this to himself. You couldn't deceive yourself every day without some sort of motive. It would slowly eat away at you, killing you.

Slowly.

 _Painfully._

"Yuto-chan~!"

Yuto looked up from where he was sitting on a bench in the courtyard. There he was. Smirking. He was always smirking, wasn't he?

"How?"

"How, what, Yuto~?" Kano chuckled, "You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"Just take the mask off of me. I hate it."

"You hate it, huh~? But that was a great present! I never give anyone my masks." He sighed and reached foreword to place his hand on the mask Yuto had been wearing the whole day. It came off immediately, connecting with Kano's fingers. He turned it around and it faded onto his own face.

Yuto stood suddenly, "How'd you deal with keeping up that level of...of..."

"Deception? These are my deceiving eyes, you see." Kano's eyes faded into crimson, "They're perfect. Just what I always wanted." He smirked again. It was painfully fake to Yuto. "I'm a liar, Yuto-chan~. I always have been, and always will be. It's been like this for over a decade, I'm used to it."

Kano laughed. Yuto winced.

"I can't be saved now, Yuto-kun; but other people can."

Kano's eyes faded back to their unusual shade of brown. A wide grin was still on his face as he mock saluted Yuto and tossed him back his phone, turning away.

Wait.

"When did you get my phone?!" Yuto yelled at his back.

"There's a lot of things you can't see, Yuto-kun~! Past my mask is one of them."

 _Punch_.

"Kidoo~! You can't just leave your hand where I'm walking! I can't see it. It's so unfair~!"

"We're leaving." The hooded girl declared, grabbing Kano's arm. She nodded towards Yuto and gave him a short smile before dragging off her brother.

-xxx-

Kido smiled at Kano as they left the school.

"Congrats, Kano. You did good today."

"Aww~! Kido's praising me?"

"One time opportunity, you'd better enjoy it."

There was a pause.

"So we never _did_ find anyone there, did we?" The blue AI NEET complained from Shintaro's phone, "Master! I'm expecting ice cream!"

"You _can't eat_ , Ene."

"It's the vibe that counts!"

"Ice...cream?" Came a whimper from behind Frog-san.

Momo grinned, "I'm down for ice cream, right, Hibiya?!"

"...I sup pose, Auntie-san."

" _Hibiya!_ I'm still in High School, remember?! Anyways, brother, you're buying."

"What?!" Shintaro blinked, "No way! There's eight of us!"

"Nine!" His phone corrected.

"You don't count..." He grumbled.

"Do too!"

"But you can't eat ice cream!"

"It's the vibe that counts!"

"Aaand we've reached full circle~!" Kano laughed.

Konoha grinned.

"Friends."

-xxx-

Yuto blinked at his phone. There it was.

 _1 new message:_

 _Greetings, Yuto-chan~! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕_ _)ﾉ_

 _Can't get away from me now~!_

 _-Kano Shuuya._

 _ **CONTACT "Kano Shuuya" SAVED.**_

* * *

Ahh friends. I hope the ending wasn't too bad. I've been wanting to write this for weeks.

You know, now that I think about it, I could write a sequel one shot. Maybe if I decide to at some point I will. Im fairly pleased with how it worked out. The start may be a bit fast paced for my liking, but I can deal with that.

Hope you enjoyed!

Naomi ;)


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